Be inspired by the story of Dieter Rogalla riding his bike to create a Europe without borders. Let’s listen as his son Frank tells us about Dieter’s dreams of integration and unity, and cooperation and peace across borders.

Edith Steinschreiber Bruck was born in 1931 in Tiszabercel, a small town in Hungary close to the border with Slovakia and Ukraine. She is a writer, poet, screenwriter, director, playwright, translator, and Holocaust survivor. Let’s listen to her story. 

This is the story of Serge Klarsfeld, a French historian, writer and lawyer who was born in Bucharest, Romania, in 1935. And this is how his story, and that of his family, begins: a story which is intertwined with the history of France. In summer 1940, France was split into two zones: the northern, or ‘occupied’ zone, under the control of the Nazis, and the southern, or ‘free’ zone under the control of the Vichy regime. In south-eastern France the situation changed in 1942.

This is the story of Katarina and her family. This is the story of a survivor. Katarina’s father survived the Holocaust in inhuman conditions but he lost many family members in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Born in Milan on 10 September 1930, Liliana Segre survived the horrors of the Auschwitz concentration camp. She belonged to a wealthy middle-class Italian Jewish family from Milan, for which religion had always been of secondary importance only.

On 9 September 1939, the Wehrmacht entered Mosina, a town near Poznań. Repression, arrests and massacres began immediately. The most tragic year was 1943, when the German occupation authorities uncovered a resistance movement in Mosina. Among those persecuted was the Jeżewicz family.

This is the story of Elza. Elza Mavrič Kumar. As a young woman, Elza had to face an adolescence marked by fear. Today she is 90 years old. She told us her story which cannot fail to touch us with its clarity, respect and its strong message calling for peace in Europe. Hundreds of stories, documents, photos and videos published by people from all over Europe. This is My History, a collaborative project of the European Parliament, where History and the lives of European citizens coincide.

In 1989, Jozef Mad’ar and his TV crew from what was then Yugoslavia were sent to film civil protests for freedom and democracy in the former Czechoslovakia. Let us listen to his recollections as he takes us on a journey through the streets of Bratislava.

In December 1989, Romania was experiencing violent civil unrest which culminated in the events that changed the country forever. Follow Otilia’s footsteps through the streets of Bucharest and relive the decisive moments of the Romanian revolution.

This is My History and the ‘View of the Future Shaped by the Past’ series, in which we are proud to present Paul Collowald. Mr Collowald is a journalist and writer who witnessed the emergence of today’s European Union first hand.

It all started when he met one of the EU’s founding fathers, Robert Schuman. He would later go on to work in many roles at the European Commission and the European Parliament, including Director-General for Information and Head of the Private Office of Parliament President Pierre Pflimlin.

His story is divided into two parts. This is part one, in which he tells us about his early life in Europe during the war. In part two, he shares his experience of working with the EU’s founding fathers. This podcast is based on an interview by Valter Mavrič, Director-General for Translation at the European Parliament.

This is My History and the ‘View of the Future Shaped by the Past’ series, in which we are proud to present Paul Collowald. Mr Collowald is a journalist and writer who witnessed the emergence of today’s European Union first hand. It all started when he met one of the EU’s founding fathers, Robert Schuman. He would later go on to work in many roles at the European Commission and the European Parliament, including Director-General for Information and Head of the Private Office of Parliament President Pierre Pflimlin.

His story is divided into two parts. This is part one, in which he tells us about his early life in Europe during the war. In part two, he shares his experience of working with the EU’s founding fathers. This podcast is based on an interview by Valter Mavrič, Director-General for Translation at the European Parliament.

Listen to this podcast in the other 23 EU languages: https://my-european-history.ep.eu/myhouse/story/1567/en

Magdalena’s story is one of great changes in Europe, the peaceful end of communism and the transition from captivity to freedom. It is a call for freedom and democracy; a rallying cry for strong women in European society.

Georg talks about his life: surviving the British bombardment of Aachen in the Second World War and supporting the cause of European integration, something he is doing today on the Board of Directors of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen.

The story told by Renata Błażowska is a true story about love, family and sacrifice, set in Poland in times of a foreign rule, two world wars and communism.

Original language: Polish

It was 1989. Andrea was seven years old and lived in Forte dei Marmi on Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast. He was beginning to discover the world. Together with his family, they travelled around Italy and Europe – from East to West and from North to South – and saw the reality of borders. And then, one day in November 1989, the way they looked at Europe changed completely. As day turned to night, Europe reached a turning point.

We kindly thank Rai Direzione Teche for granting the use of their audio material.

“What does it mean to be Dutch?” - A quest through history for one’s own identity